“Take it easy on me today during grappling. I’m a little sore after last night.” With that, I went into the bathroom to get ready.
Devon wasin his office when I got there. The door was open, so I stepped inside. “You wanted to see me?”
He appeared unimpressed by the interruption. “Yeah, I did. Yesterday.”
“Well, yesterday wasn’t good for me.”
His jaw ticked. “That’s not how this works, Keaton.”
I propped myself against the wall. “Something came up, but I’m here now.”
His eyes narrowed. “You get away with a lot more than the other guys, but don’t think just because I go easy on you?—”
My shoulders tensed. “Go easy on me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ve cut you some slack,” he replied. “And you know why, but you can’t take advantage of it this time.”
I did know why he didn’t come down as hard on me as he did with some of the other guys. He may have agreed to keep things professional when I joined his gym, but he’d made it clear plenty of times since then that if I wanted to hook up again, he’d be down.
I nodded. “Message received. I’ll try to rein it in. Was that all you wanted to talk about?”
He shook his head. “Have things between you and Rowan calmed down?”
He tried to sound casual, but I could read between the lines. “Yeah. Everything’s chill now.”
“So, I don’t need to fix anything in the rental from you two fighting?” he questioned with a grin.
“Nah. We agreed to let our issues go.”
“It’s none of my business, but what were those issues?”
“Just some high school bullshit,” I lied, not wanting to tell him anything more.
“As long as that’s all behind you, I guess we don’t have anything to worry about. Now for the real reason I called you in here. I just got word about an event down in Los Angeles in a few months. Several sports agents will be there scouting for new talent.”
“Like legit agents?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Not just local promoters. These are guys with real connections, contracts, sponsorships. People who can actually move your career forward.”
My pulse kicked up a notch. That was the kind of opportunity I’d been working for since I’d walked into Titan Elite.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “What do I need to do?”
Devon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “I’m not taking the whole team, just the fighters who are ready or close enough that it makes sense to get them in front of the right people.”
“And who are you thinking?”
A smirk pulled at his mouth. “You and Rowan are both on that list.”
“Really?” I asked, keeping my tone neutral.
“Yeah.” He didn’t look away. “You two have different styles and strengths, but you’re both in that same tier right now.”
It was nice knowing that he saw enough potential to consider me for such an opportunity. “Thanks, I really appreciate it.”
“I’m not handing you anything,” he added. “You still have to earn it.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
